Letter: Don’t confuse rape and sex
Nashane Peterkin, 16, of Springfield Gardens, walks with head covered out of the State Park Police Headquaters in West Babylon after being arrested and charged with sexual assault. (Sept. 9, 2013) Credit: Jim Staubitser
While Nassau police should be applauded for making an arrest after two assaults in Valley Stream, I am dismayed by the statement of the county detective investigating the 16-year-old suspect.
The detective said the suspect was “very much sexually motivated” to commit the crimes “by his sexual needs and desires.”
Rape is an act of assault and violence: The “sex” is a weapon to harm, humiliate and degrade the victim. This is evident in these cases from the brutal beating and strangulation of the victims.
Pamela Johnston, Huntington
